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The Frick Collection has brought out highlights from its expansive horology collection to present Precision and Splendor: Clocks and Watches at The Frick Collection. There is a chiming Breguet carriage clock, a sixteenth century Italian dome clock, and a number of other amazing pieces on display. We went inside the collection with curator Charlotte Vignon to give you a closer look at this truly exceptional exhibition.

This week we dropped into Breguet's Madison Avenue boutique in New York City to get a closer look at the boutique exclusive edition of the Réveil du Tsar Alarm. The combination of the rose gold case and the fired enamel dial is stunning and instead of just your basic vibrating alarm, the Réveil du Tsar utilizes a loud minute repeater-style gong. Click through for a closer look at this unique piece from Breguet.

Not too long ago, we showed you Breguet's Fusée Tourbillon, an amazing piece of haute horology that uses a nearly forgotten complication to increase accuracy. Well today we have another of Breguet's amazing high complication watches for you. Here we go hands-on with the boutique exclusive No. 7637 minute repeater, bringing you all the details, including live photos and a video of the beautiful repeater in action.

What we have for you here is a stunner from Breguet's Tradition collection, the Fusée Tourbillon ref. 7047BR. Not only does the Fusée house an amazing movement, but it is also brilliantly designed to show off that movement in all its glory. Here we'll walk you though exactly what you're looking at and why we think it's so interesting.

Yesterday Sotheby's New York held its Important Watches and Clocks sale at their Upper East Side headquarters. The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the record-setting sale of the Duc D'Orléans Breguet Sympathique clock from 1835, a stunning clock with a docking pocket watch - yes, a docking pocket watch.

It's been a rough week here in
New York. Hurricane Sandy has left millions without power, hot water, and
even mobile phone coverage, still to this very moment. Our own HODINKEE
offices have unfortunately been relocated from SoHo to SoPo, and our team hasn't been there in days. We've been doing our best to keep the site fresh every day, and even managed to launch a pretty bad-ass competition for you guys,
but we do apologize for the seeming absence over this past week. We've
heard that power should be restored to our offices (and hopefully the
rest of NY) sometime this weekend.

Still,
it's Friday, and from our make-shift offices on West 79th street, we
are here to bring you three of the coolest vintage watch we've found for
sale on the web. Let's get down to it.

1st Generation Breguet Type XX Chrono - pic via TZOne of the most fascinating watches of the 20th century was the Type XX ("Type Twenty") chronograph. They were made by more than a few manufactures for the French air force, though the most commonly referenced and most sought after are those made by Breguet.

This summer, Breguet is celebrating its history in aviation with a traveling exhibit of both vintage and new aeronautically-themed timepieces, including ten vintage pieces that have never before been shown in the United States. The exhibit is open to the public and on display at the Breguet boutique this weekend in New York on Fifth Avenue. From here, it will go on to Bal Harbour and Beverly Hills.

You can see a few pieces on display at this interesting exhibit over on TimeZone right now, but if you're in NY this weekend, it's definitely worth checking out.

You won't see us commenting on the Russian Orthodox Church or its affairs too often around here, but a recent story about a certain watch that Patriarch Kirill may or may not wear was too good to pass up. The story begins with a picture taken in 2009, depicting the watch less Patriarch sitting with a Russian justice minister. Nothing unusual about that, except that on closer inspection, within the reflection of the table, a watch is clearly present on his wrist, indicating the presence of some photo trickery on behalf of the ROC, who posted the image on their website. What's the big deal? The watch is a $30,000 Breguet, and it seems Russians have grown sensitive to the Church's lavish displays of wealth.

This week, Patriarch Kirill did confess to owning the Breguet, a Réveil du Tsar model, though insisted that he had never really taken it out of the box. Any image showing otherwise should be considered manipulated, he suggested. In a twist of irony then, the photo posted on the ROC's website was quickly called into question by Russian bloggers. Forced to acknowledge the public slip up, they place the blame squarely on a 24 year old female employee, who acted of her own accord. Clearly, the Russian Orthodox Church is not trying to hide anything.

The watch at the center of all the fuss in the Breguet Réveil du Tsar, which looks to be in steel or white gold. The automatic Breguet features a GMT, power reserve and alarm complications courtesy of the caliber 519F inside. As fitting a watch as you'll find for a Russian Patriarch, even if worn without discretion. Read the full story right here at the NYT.

While Patek Philippe is the undisputed darling of the antique and vintage watch auction world, there are a few brands that can excite the mega-collectors now and then. Occasionally, Vacheron Constantin will have an epic showing, so will Audemars Piguet, but it's really Breguet that has the best chance to outshine a Patek on any given day. The thing is, you so rarely see vintage Breguet wristwatches (besides type XX's) in the auction world. Today we have one, and it's exceptional.

The Breguet 5157 Being Auctioned Off To Support The NY PhilharmonicBreguet recently re-upped their relationship with the New York Philharmonic. To celebrate, they have donated one of their Classique watches (the 5157 in gold) to benefit the NYP's School Partnership program. The watch will be auctioned off via eBay with all proceeds going to the program.

The NY Philharmonic School Partnership Program "is geared to promote students’ creativity and understanding of music through the experience of symphonic music. Students study great musical works, attend live performances of the New York Philharmonic and compose music of their own; opportunities students may not otherwise receive. They develop focused listening skills, performance skills on recorder, musical literacy both symbolic and verbal, strategies for group work, knowledge of cultural history and a personal relationship to the art of music."

The 5157 in yellow gold was selected for the charity auction because it is the very same watch worn by New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert. It is a 38mm, ultra-thin watch with self-winding movement. Retail on this watch is $16,200.

Bidding takes place just like it would on any traditional eBay auction, and it will close on January 15th at midnight. The actual watch in question is available to preview at the brand new Breguet boutique at 711 Fifth Ave in NYC.

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Friday March 3, 2012

HODINKEE is one of the most widely read wristwatch publications in the world. Launched in 2008 by then 25-year-old Benjamin Clymer, the site quickly gained notoriety for earnest looks at some of the industry’s most interesting, and occasionally forgotten timepieces.